know him from the office. One of Jerry's daughters, Millicent (Sarah Wright), dates Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe) for much of season 4. In "Two Funerals", city manager Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) searches for an interim mayor to replace the recently deceased Mayor Gunderson. After a fruitless search Ben realises Garry (as he is then called) is the ideal candidate. In the flash forwards in the final episode it is shown that Mayor Gergich is repeatedly reelected in earnest, serving 10 terms. These flash forwards show that Garry dies on his 100th birthday, after celebrating with several generations of his family and toasting a perfect life. He is buried with much ceremony, attended by possibly the President of the United States (Ben and Leslie are flanked by what appear to be Secret Service agents), but his name is misspelled "Girgich" on his gravestone. Development Although Jerry Gergich has been a regular character since the pilot episode of Parks and Recreation, O'Heir having originally read for the role of Ron Swanson, the character's personality was not fully formed until the second season. Series co-creator Michael Schur said they liked actor Jim O'Heir so much that he cast him immediately and "figured we'd work it out later". Jerry's personality traits began to become established after the episode "Practice Date" when, during a contest to see who could find the most dirt on each other, city planner Mark Brendanawicz inadvertently reveals that Jerry was adopted. O'Heir was thrilled by this because it meant that the show's writers were interested in developing his character. Schur said after that script, "We realized that’s who he is: He’s the guy who wants to put his head down and get his pension, but is asking for it all the time. In the next three scripts, it was like throwing chum into the water. Every script after that had 15 slams on Jerry." Once this personality was established, the writers felt it important to establish that the other characters liked Jerry, despite their constant mockery of him. O'Heir said in an interview that whenever his co-stars apologize for being mean to him during a scene, he tells them "You're not doing it to Jim. We're all actors". The episode "Park Safety" was written as a result. Critical reception Several critics have praised both the writing of the character, as well as O'Heir's performance. Hitfix writer Daniel Fienberg praised Jim